Frederick C. Davis

“ The last minute is gone; and Ned is forced to his plane. Jane was already in when he got there; he climbs in, not givin’ her any special notice. There is a poppin’ and roarin’ of motors all around, up and down the line. Greaseballs turn the Alton over, and she sings a sweet tune. The whole line-up is stirrin’ up a tornado when bang! a shot-gun goes off—which means the race is started!
The Stormbird tears off like a maniac, lifts, climbs steady, and then deadheads on. ”

“ Ned stomps on the gas. Away goes the Alton. It takes off quick, climbs fast and, roarin’ high, plows into the sky.
And I, back on the field, watch it go with tears in my eyes!
One by one, at sixty-second intervals, the planes take off, and soon they’re parading along the sky, and trailin’ out of sight. Once they’re gone, there is nothin’ to do but wait for reports along the way. The crowd lingers, and I avoid Mr. Alton. He goes to his car; I just float around. What’s happenin’ to Ned and Jane now, I wonder? What’s goin to happen to ’em as they drive across half a dozen states. ”

“ Whenever I see Jane comin’ onto the testin’ field of the big, boomin’, prosperous Alton factory, to take a little sky-spin with her husband, I size her up and sigh and tell myself all over again that that girl sure looks right in a flyin’ suit! ”

“ There’s a crowd pushin’ around on it, and lined up, staggered in back of each other, are planes. We circle and come down, and taxi smoothly across the field. Then we ground-loop neatly, and come amblin’ back. Ned cuts the motor, and we hop out. For a minute we’re busy registerin’, and then official greaseballs push the plane into place, third in the line.
And there’s the Stormbird, our deadly opponent, with its nose ’way out in front. As we come past it, the pilot comes away from it. It is Walker, lookin’ uglier ’n ever, with gloatin’ eyes and crooked sneer. ”

“ The ship’s as steady as a Rolls Royce on Fifth Avenue and she stays that way. Also, it’s easier to hold her head up. And the ailerons can be used when she’s throttled way down—that’s somethin’ that’s improved with the new prop and stabilizer. She’s ready for any race now, Mr. Alton.”
“Good!” said the Boss.
The boys’d been helpin’ me to roll the plane tail-to into the hangar, and then, leavin’ Mr. Alton, Jane, Ned and me in there alone, they went back to work. I tore off the old ignition wires while Mr. Alton talked.
“Ned, are you ready to fly your best tomorrow? ”

“ Mr. Alton spoke quietly now to the boys, askin’ ’em to look over the planes careful, suggestin’ that a guard be put around the hangars tonight so that nothin’ could happen to the planes before the start of the air race the next day; and they’d better keep a gun handy; and—
“Ned!” Jane called out, not bein’ able to hold herself in any longer. “Please, let’s get another plane out and go right back up!”
“Jane,” Mr. Alton said, “I want to talk with Ned a little, so you’d better let the flyin’ go a while. Benny, is that ship damaged much?” ”

“ Then, Ned tells me, we should be on our way. We roll the plane out, and block her; Ned gets in, contacts her, and we pump the prop. She roars off, higher and higher, and the engine begins to warm and sing a sweet song. When she’s hot, she’s the sweetest soundin’ motor I ever heard. Grinnin’ all over our faces, Ned and I get set. She steps off down the field, swings into the air, and away we go, for the startin’ field, as full of hope as any man could be without bustin’. ”

“ The Committeeman muffed a few words, not knowin’ what to do or say, but seein’ plain enough that she had got to the field first.
Then a man in leather tunic and with goggle-prints around his eyes came pushin’ through the crowd, with four other Committeemen, all lookin’ indignant and outraged. That guy was Walker—Walker was howlin’.
“There she is!” he yelped. “This race is bein’ run on the square, ain’t it? Well, you can’t rate her winner. She isn’t the pilot that belongs to that ship. Her name is Alton—the pilot registered for this plane is named Knight!” ”

“ Jane gaily waved at the Impco pilot and threw him a couple of kisses!
The Alton bored on, and Ned concentrated on the Stormbird. It was still thundering on, a strong ship, much better than the Imp, perhaps equal to ours—perhaps even better! Ned kept the throttle wide; and Jane settled down to the serious business of takin’ the lead.
The earth was bobbin’ below the planes, slidin’ by gentle but fast; one town and another came into view and disappeared. And then the Alton began to wobble. The motor roared up and down. Ned was actin’ funny with the controls. Jane watched him close ”

“ It was easy to see that Stormbird was usin’ him because Walker would be hell-bent to beat us out, for our handlin’ of him. We were goin’ to have a real enemy flyin’ against us!
“Gosh!” I croaked. “Ned, we can sure count on Walker’s beatin’ us if he possibly can. He’ll fly like a wild man to beat us!”
“I’m goin’ to do some flyin’ myself,” Ned came back. “Is the plane ready, Benny? If it is, we’d better be gettin’ over the field. We’ve got to check in and get lined up. Mr. Alton has drawn third place for us.” ”

“ A string of single-motored planes was goin’ to line up, every one ready to do its best, and compete for the championship—and the competition was goin’ to be murder! A big Commission was behind the project, directin’ it. ”